War is Good for One Thing
by Goth Albino Angel
Summary: A Tigerclaw/Anne story from The Wotch. Manipulated by Lord Xaos, Tigerclaw kidnaps and interrogates Anne for weeks on end while things become increasingly depressing back in Tandy Gardens. The war is driving Tigerclaw to her breaking point while Anne heads in the same direction. Miranda and Cassie fight to bring Anne back, but will they be too late. Heavy mentions of torture.


**_The Wotch is the property of Anne Onymous and Robin Ericson. That is all._**

**_Alright, so this is obviously something new for me. I've gotten interested and borderline obsessed with the Wotch lately and I kept rolling ideas over in my head. I currently have five ideas, this one included, and the only reason my first one hasn't been posted is because I haven't finished the first chapter. Don't worry, that's coming. Anyway, by all means, enjoy the chapter and tell me what you think._**

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"Hey Anne!" Robin called, running up and grinning at the redhead.

"Hey Robin." Anne replied, opening her locker and retrieving the books she needed while depositing the ones she no longer needed for her classes. "What's up?"

"I was just wondering if you wanted to join me, Jason and Cassie for some videogames?"

"Sorry, Robin. I have to head to Miranda's. She says things are picking up and she wants me to be prepared for anything that my come at me."

The brunette's shoulders slumped. "Oh, okay. See ya later then."

Anne put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry." She comforted him. "I'll be able to hang out some other time. You know that."

"Yeah." Robin nodded, turning and waving as they headed in different directions. Anne walked calmly through the woods, knowing that the magical barriers would prevent most things from coming at her. Coming to the house in the woods, the redhead knocked politely before being let inside.

"You're late." Miranda murmured, standing from her chair and motioning for Anne to follow.

The redhead checked the watch Robin had given her for her sixteenth birthday and raised an eyebrow. "By thirty seconds." She huffed, trailing her mentor into their pocket dimension so that she could train.

"Yes, but every second counts with your training. You must learn all I can teach you in as little amount of time as possible so that you can practice it without me always having to be here." Miranda turned to face her pupil and found Anne ready for anything she may have for her.

"Today we are going to focus on your reaction time in a battle." The former Wotch stated, hands behind her back.

"Battle?" Anne wondered.

"Yes." Miranda shot fire at the redhead right as she answered and Anne dodged to the side quickly.

"Always with the fire first." She sighed, raising her hands to conjure a barrier to stop the next attack. "Why can't they ever go for ice or air first? It's always the fire."

Dodging another fire attack, the young Wotch lashed out with a blast of wind, knocking Miranda backwards as the former Wotch had not expected her student to fight back, but merely remain on the defensive. _Good. A surprise is always good._

Miranda brought up a hand to block the water attack that came at her, but seconds later, the water that had splashed around her feet turned to ice, holding her in its grip as Anne sent another blast of magic in her direction. Miranda dodged the blast as she simultaneously sent one of her own at the other Wotch, distracting her long enough to melt the ice around her feet.

Anne had dodged the blast Miranda had sent her way and rolled to the side to dodge the next one that the freed Wotch shot. While in the roll, she attempted to take aim and succeeded in getting a fireball thrown in the correct direction. Miranda quickly blocked it, but was unprepared for the torrent of water that slammed her into the wall.

Dropping to the floor, she put up a quick shield as Anne created a fire dragon to try distracting her. Miranda wasn't taking the bait and the redhead's next attack, an illusion of a knight on horseback, simply hit the barrier as well. Miranda stood from her place and put up a hand to stop the younger Wotch.

"You did well." Miranda stated. "However, your reactions were three seconds slower than they should have been. You need to get faster at anticipating any and every move your opponent will pull."

Anne sighed and nodded, shoulders slumped as she grabbed her bag and headed for the door.

"Oh and Anne?" the redhead turned back with a quizzical expression. "Make sure to invite Jason and Robin over for the session in four days, understood?"

"Wait, you actually _want _them here for it?" Anne inquired, confused at this knowledge.

"Yes, I do. I believe they will be vital in what I am going to be teaching you next." The redhead was still confused but nodded all the same and waved to Arizona as she headed for home. Thinking on the battle strategies Miranda had used while she walked, Anne analyzed the different methods she did, wondering if she would be able to do that during battle. Suppose she didn't have much of a choice.

**Meanwhile…**

Xaos sat atop his throne, hand on his chin as he watched Anne walk home. She was obviously deep in thought over the session she had just had with her mentor and he wondered what she was thinking about.

Turning away from the mirror, he instead glanced out the window and found a handful of Fallen returning with Uricarn from their latest mission of Resistance hunting. From the lack of blood on the Fallen's claws, he surmised that they did not find any. He was about to turn away when a flash of red caught his eye.

Looking more closely at the group, he noticed one Fallen scampering further behind the rest. It was the only red one he owned, Elise Redd. _How strange._ He mused, watching her hurry to catch up with the other Fallen as they entered the castle. _Wasn't she on a different search and destroy mission?_ Shaking his head, the Dark Lord turned from the window and back to his image of Anne.

She was doing her homework while conjuring playthings for her brother-turned-sister. _Hm, she is resourceful. I will hand that to her, but she is still inexperienced. How can I fulfill the prophecies if she isn't properly trained when the time comes to carry them out?_

Turning at a sudden crash, Xaos watched as several Fallen rushed past, most of them looked to be _fleeing_. _What on earth could make a Fallen afraid?_

He received his answer mere seconds later when a flash of red darted past the door, claws slashing at any Fallen that came even close to her. Elise hissed angrily at all of them and continued lashing out, dark eyes narrowed further than usual.

Xaos sighed, rolling his unseen eyes. _What could have made her upset this time? I would have thought the other Fallen would have realized that she's not to be trifled with. Her rage is the reason we keep her chained up!_

Just then, the red creature turned toward the throne room and cocked her head at the Dark Lord. Xaos noticed a slight flicker in the eyes and wondered what that could have been. Before he could analyze it further, Elise was gone, running after another target that dared enrage her.

_Hm, if this keeps up… I may have a new commander of the Fallen army._ Deciding that Elise had had enough fun for now, the Dark Lord called, "Uricarn!"

The demon dragon entered the throne room minutes later, sporting a gash on his cheek that was already closing. "Yes, Lord Xaos?" he inquired, wiping at a small dribble of blood.

"Have the red one taken back to the dungeon before she destroys the castle. And make sure she's chained."

"Yes, boss." Turning, Uricarn leaped into the fray, helping the other Fallen to take down their comrade so that she could be subdued. Lifting the bound creature over his head, Uricarn easily transported her down to the dungeon. Taking one of her arms, he clipped the manacle around it and used his tail to untie her. "Nighty-night, toots." He snickered, slamming the door shut.

Unbeknownst to the Dark Lord, as soon as she was chained to the wall, the red Fallen instantly calmed, crouching close to the ground and focusing on the wall to try clearing her mind. Once cleared, the struggle began. _Should find… _**kill…**_ no, find… _**kill…**_ no, find the… _**murder and torment…**_ find the… _**kill them all…**_ resistance soldiers… _**kill them all…**_ no, find them… _**then kill…**_ no, help… _**kill…**_ help… _**kill…**

It was like this every night. Every night, once she was chained, Elise would battle with herself to try figuring out what she would do. But one thing was for certain: she was going to _leave this castle._

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**_Hm, t seems I continue to think of this more as the comic than as an actual story. I'm not sure if that will come in handy or not, but I'll keep it up for now. As for the title… well, I need help again, I suppose. That's the best I could get at the moment, so if y'all have any suggestions as the story goes on, I'm happy to hear'em._**


End file.
